Botcon 2010 SUCKED!, --according to guys who didn't do anything there Options

[Esser-Z]

One thing I can't stress enough is my appreciation for the efforts of our fandom to share these events with those who cannot attend.

When the Allspark and so many other sites offer photo galleries and panel summaries, they do a great service for those who can't be there.

Yeah, I agree. Botcon Weekend is still a very fun time for me because of the communal experience of the noncongoers experiencing all the AWESOME news. Keep up the great work, everyone!

[Thylacine2000]

I want to make one thing very clear: I love fan panels. I earlier listed many examples of great fan panels BC routinely has.

My "in the age of the Internet they are unnecessary" comment refers to the type of fan panel that apparently these guys want BC to have instead of anything with actual content: just self-moderated roundtable shoot-outs, like if a bunch of friends were discussing a given topic over pizza, except in this case they aren't actually friends.... yet. I love socializing at conventions, but I truly do not get the whole "go HERE at this hour in order to socialize ABOUT THIS TOPIC." Let people be people! We're all gonna talk about this stuff, we don't need a frickin' SCHEDULE to do it! A how-to panel, a hidden easter egg panel, a LARP panel--those need to be scheduled. Not "Show Up And Talk."

[Jeysie]

I love socializing at conventions, but I truly do not get the whole "go HERE at this hour in order to socialize ABOUT THIS TOPIC." Let people be people!

Because it's a whole lot easier in a greasing-the-social-wheels sense to go into a room and know there's going to be a specific topic everyone wants to discuss, than it is to try and get a random group of people together in the mere hope that everyone possibly maybe will want to discuss or know about any of the same topics. Especially if you get someone to run the panel who actually has some kind of expertise in the topic or subject at hand.

I mean, you could feasibly get a random group of TF fans together and have everyone have completely different experience regards which continuities they have or haven't read, whether they kitbash or costume or draw or write or not, whether they collect like mad or don't know the toys much beyond the occasional "looks cool figure", etc.

(Not that random groups don't also have their charm, but one is not a replacement for the other.)

This post has been edited by Jeysie: Jul 5 2010, 08:34 PM

[NICKSAUR]

I envision myself going up to the case of glass figures and being like "Oh man, that new fallen figure is bad ass! " and seeing what conversation that sparks with the people around me. That's something they can comment on immediately and I know I'll get a few "oh yeah, definately" or "nah, i like this guy even more" type comments. Which if we're all nerding out should be a fairly adequate talking point.

Now i imagine these dudes would be all like "this is totally stupid. Who wants a guy who combines with these little things? What are these? Where the hell is Optimus!" and that would not be such a welcoming topic for people who are oogling and getting huge boners off of this stuff. So yeah, I can see why they wouldn't want to mingle.


P.S. Most casual fans I know love Beast Wars. They watched it when they were going to school. So yeah. These guys are pretty cool.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, I do just fine making casual conversation with people in line or at the Hasbro displays, and having friends to enjoy the hobby with during the weekend. Not to mention how much of an unfun, logistical nightmare an organized, live discussion sounds like. It's just... weird.

[Cheetimus Primal]

I've missed the last two Botcons... and wow does it hurt to think about that. In the end the part I miss the most is the people. There are SO MANY PEOPLE that I love to meet up with and just be a goofy bastard with.
And yeah, we of course talk our heads off about TFs. A lot of it happens in the lobby. I'm one of those people that love it for the people. People I've met on the boards or at the Con or people in the industry I look forward to seeing each time and having them recognize me (trash talking with David Kaye as we ran into each other over and over in Rhode Island was pretty damn funny). I still owe Pete a beer or seventeen.

Lounging around the rooms or being rowdy and drunk, I look forward to doing that with my friends there. It made me extra sad this year when I started getting texts from people asking me if I'd be there. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-screamer.gif)


Gah, sorry for the rambling nonsense. I'll stop now and head to bed.

[Shattered]

The problem with fan panels at Botcon, other than the oft proven lackluster attendance that they receive, is that as long as they are advertised on the schedule they reflect on Botcon, FunPub and Hasbro.

So if you have a fan panel where it's some ass in front of a crowded room...a somewhat full room...5 other people, and he spouts out hate, anyone offended by such a panel would have the right to blame FunPub (and Hasbro, since it's an "official" convention) for what they just endured. They accepted the panel, authorized the content by allowing it to take place, and advertised it by printing it on the schedule. So anything that sounds like it could turn into anything the least bit offensive has to be nixed. Completely.

Also, anything that could be considered inappropriate for children has to be cut as well. This isn't an adult-oriented Sci-Fi convention, where kids are practically 3rd string. FunPub and Hasbro actively encourage attendees to bring their children and strive for a family-friendly environment. Which means no undirected fan panels where the discussion can quickly turn vulgar and/or be laced with profanity.

I'm not saying that fan-panels be scrapped, but I can certainly understand the need to deny any panels that can turn out offensive, vulgar, or just plain dumb. Maybe they could just label one of the vacant panel rooms as a "discussion" room, where fans can wander in and express their feelings without it being a true and planned panel. But then again, isn't that what the queues are? And the hallways? And the lobby? And the dinner? And the empty panel rooms where some fans already gather and discuss Transformers?

This post has been edited by Shattered: Jul 5 2010, 11:44 PM

[Walky]

So if you have a fan panel where it's some ass in front of a crowded room...a somewhat full room...5 other people, and he spouts out hate, anyone offended by such a panel would have the right to blame FunPub (and Hasbro, since it's an "official" convention) for what they just endured. They accepted the panel, authorized the content by allowing it to take place, and advertised it by printing it on the schedule. So anything that sounds like it could turn into anything the least bit offensive has to be nixed. Completely.

Yeah, it was bad enough when it was Michael Bell telling penis jokes.

[Sean Whitmore]

I for one would love a roundtable where people get together and tell racist jokes with a Transformers bent.

"'Rapido', huh? At least now I know where my hubcaps went. Ha! Hey, why are those people walking out?"

[Walky]

I think they call that <insert name of sketchy Transformers message board here>.

[Might Gaine]

I had a really good time. There was always something to do, or people to meet and talk to. I had pretty much zero downtime. My only regret is that it didn't last longer!

[Chaotic Descent]

I must admit, when it came time to fill out that "What else would you like to see" section of the questionnaire, I suggested fan-panel-ish stuff. If only because I couldn't think of anything more they could do from an industry standpoint ("Y'know those VA panels you already do? Keep doing that, but get different guys").

URG!!! I hate the questionnaire. I NEVER have time for it! This year it was so bad I totally forgot to hand it in. I didn't even remember when they were holding the draw for free attendance next year, thinking I was still in the drawing. *sigh*

I really wish I could just... go for the drawing, and fill this questionnaire out after I get home.

Even when I manage to find the time to fill it out, I'm too scatterbrained to think clearly for all of the questions. Some of those require some careful thinking, maybe even research.

I noticed one of them about what exclusives you'd like next year required you to pick either Classics molds or ... something else I forget. (maybe it was pre-BW molds?? I thought it was like "G1/foreign exclusives" or something) Very limited options. Sure you could suggest other things in another question, but for a full set, it was very specific.

I guess I'd be up for some more contests/panels that accentuated fan interaction. Team trivia contest maybe, or a song parody contest where you perform in person. And while MSTF never appealed to me for a few reasons, I could see it benefiting from breaking up a movie into, say, 15-minute segments and having groups of 3 compete by goofing on them in turn. This is all real top-of-the-head stuff, I haven't given it a great deal of thought.

I was very sad not to have MSTF this year, although I do hate when it keeps me up past midnight and then I want to wake up the next morning really early. I think 15 minutes is way too short. Two blocks of an hour would be fine. Then it would be panel schedule sized.

Yeah, I do just fine making casual conversation with people in line or at the Hasbro displays, and having friends to enjoy the hobby with during the weekend. Not to mention how much of an unfun, logistical nightmare an organized, live discussion sounds like. It's just... weird.

A few of you have poo-pooed this. Even if it's not your thing, or even if it's not hugely popular, it still may serve a useful purpose for enough of us to be worth doing. I don't want the chance ruined for the rest of us.

[Monocle]

I was actually pretty sick during BC this year, and I still managed to have a great time. The con has always been about what you make of it, and if these people are that upset over how their experience went, well they are to blame for it.

That being said, with the attitude they have to the franchise, it is even better that Dinobot won! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-hotrod.gif)

[Zapper Zaku]

Wait. Tom Croom and Joey Snackpants? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-primal.gif) Well, I'm not surprised.

How could there be nothing to do at Botcon on Saturday? I pretty much stayed in the panels room all day and had a great time overall.

Grrr, I still remember them from the final Jacon (how can I forget. I was probably the only BW fan there) I mean, if you don't like Beast Wars that's perfectly fine with me but if you're gonna do a freaking panel stating that BW sucks then at least watch one episode, wikipedia it or something to know what in the world you are talking about. Seriously (and I have a recording of the panel) the only reasons they gave for not liking BW are the graphics and that transformers in the past disguised themselves as inanimate objects in order to fool people and transforming into animals is not going to fool other animals. >.< Uh, hello! The reason why they got the beast forms was to protect themselves from the unstable energon radiation. It's stated in the first 5 minutes for crying out loud! Season 1 practically beats you over the head about the stinking energon! Uh, Duh. Even as a bias BW fan, I can think of some better shortcomings for the series than that!

Sorry, but that has frustrated me to no end ever since and that has made the Hall of Fame dinner a million times more awesome just because of those two.

[Detour]

Wow.

Yeah... if you want nothing but your GEEWUN, BotCon is going to disappoint you. It's about love for the entire franchise.

In short: if you were a little kid looking for the “real” Bumblebee, you’d get confused really quickly.

Except to the little kids... the real Bumblebee IS the Camaro. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

But yeah. Frankly, just reading this thread and the opinions presented within I feel like I've had more enjoyment out of BotCon (it is a very interesting thread to read) than these guys had by actually attending.

I will agree that you get what you put in at a convention. It's a social experience.

[Suspsy]

Kind of a shame FP didn't allow them their piss poor panel. It would've been interesting to see them get torn apart by a whole legion of BW fans. Assuming, of course, they'd have had the energy to put the panel on, given how EXHAUSTING it is to walk around so much.

[Suspsy]

Also, Thy and Pete have been earnestly trying to talk some sense into the minds of those nitwits, and while both have made nothing but solid, logical, factual arguments, they have been met with the equivalent of LALALALALALA WE CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALALALALALALA.

I urge others to chime in as well:
http://www.tomcroom.com/?p=6403

This post has been edited by Suspsy: Jul 11 2010, 09:27 AM

[G.B.Blackrock]

Also, Thy and Pete have been earnestly trying to talk some sense into the minds of those nitwits, and while both have made nothing but solid, logical, factual arguments, they have been met with the equivalent of LALALALALALA WE CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALALALALALALA.

I urge others to chime in as well:
http://www.tomcroom.com/?p=6403

Actually, the first comment (Esteban) seems quite reasonable, and FP would do well to take him seriously.

[Chip]

Also, Thy and Pete have been earnestly trying to talk some sense into the minds of those nitwits, and while both have made nothing but solid, logical, factual arguments, they have been met with the equivalent of LALALALALALA WE CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALALALALALALA.

I urge others to chime in as well:
http://www.tomcroom.com/?p=6403

Ahh, this is an eye opener. They're not the disgruntled fans they presented themselves as in the first post this thread linked to. They're pushing their own product, and it's something that people who go to BotCon would find pretty pointless. I mean, Jesus, the PS2 game? Are they also going to shock us with the revelation that there were Transformers after the movie (and they all sucked)?

[Tengu]

Also, Thy and Pete have been earnestly trying to talk some sense into the minds of those nitwits, and while both have made nothing but solid, logical, factual arguments, they have been met with the equivalent of LALALALALALA WE CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALALALALALALA.

I urge others to chime in as well:
http://www.tomcroom.com/?p=6403

One could attempt to refute these sackless holes of suck, but why bother? Who cares if you call BotCon a convention, a trade show, a robot orgy, or a near-catastrophe that still gives you nightmares? I've been to BotCons that I would classify by any or all four of those designations. People can complain that there's not enough BotCon hand-holding or kumbaya-ing all they want, but I've never been to a legitimate convention of any type that gives random strangers a convention room and says: "Hey guys, have fun. Bitch about stuff." There may perhaps be many conventions run tighter than BotCon, but they normally involve ceiling tiles and carpet swatches.